In recent years, grain elevators and feed mills have necessarily become increasingly efficient in their operations. Many customers of elevators and feed mills now operate on a xe2x80x9cjust-in-timexe2x80x9d basis. Consequently, it is becoming increasingly important to minimize the duration of any elevator or mill downtime.
In the past, grain handling equipment manufacturers have sold adjustable spout ends which are placed at a lower end of an upwardly angled spout. The spout ends are typically disposed over the center of a grain bin, and the spout ends typically direct material into the center of the bin in a substantially vertical column. One example of such an adjustable spout end is the xe2x80x9cOriginal Stylexe2x80x9d Adjustable Spout End made by Nolin Milling, Inc. of Dickens, Iowa. This adjustable spout end has a pivoting top flange which bolts, clamps or is welded, etc. to a spout which supplies material from an elevated position. This spout end includes a plurality of internal baffles fixed in a stationary bottom section which is fixed to the top of the bin. These baffles are known to cause a backing up of the material within the adjustable spout end when material is provided at a sufficiently high flow rate. Once a sufficient flow is present, the grain entering the adjustable spout end strikes the reservoir of grain backing up. The incoming grain is thereby relatively gently decelerated by collision with the numerous movable grain particles building up inside the adjustable spout end. Once the grain is slowed and transformed into a substantially vertical columnar flow, it enters the top of the bin.
While these adjustable spout ends have enjoyed much success and have been used extensively in the past, they do have some drawbacks.
First of all, the effectiveness and efficiency of the grain-to-grain deceleration, occurring when incoming grain strikes grain pooling within the adjustable spout end, is at least somewhat dependent upon the angle between the incoming spout and the baffles fixed within the adjustable spout end and upon the flow rate of material through the spout. These adjustable spout ends generally operate optimally at a maximum spout flow rate and at some angle of arrival between 38 degrees and 90 degrees. These adjustable spout ends often operate sub-optimally as the flow rate decreases and/or the angle of the spout departs from the optimal orientation.
Secondly, repair and/or replacement of these adjustable spout ends often require considerable precision in situ cutting of the spout (often to within {fraction (1/16)}th of an inch), and, therefore, much time and attention are required. In some cases, such as replacement of a spout end located inside a grain elevator or feed mill, etc. (because of the danger of a grain dust explosion), it may be necessary to obtain a xe2x80x9chot work permitxe2x80x9d and to completely shut down the entire operation while any in situ welding or spout cutting is performed.
Thirdly, due to normal thermal and load-related expansion and contraction of the spout and the grain bin, the adjustable spout end and its connections to the spout and the grain bin may become distressed and distorted, thereby requiring repair and/or replacement.
Fourthly, the spouts may periodically need to be rotated so as to cause wear to occur more evenly and thereby extend the useful life of the spout. When this task is performed, it is often necessary to unbolt both ends of the spout and support the spout with a crane. This high level of effort and expense often discourages proper maintenance of the spouts.
Consequently, there exists a need for improved methods and systems for providing, maintaining, repairing and replacing equipment for delivering and decelerating dry bulk material in an efficient manner.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a system and method for decelerating dry bulk material in an efficient manner.
It is a feature of the present invention to utilize a pivoting oversized input spout sleeve.
It is an advantage of the present invention to simplify and enhance the coupling of the adjustable spout end to the spout.
It is another feature of the present invention to integrate a series of baffles within the pivoting input spout sleeve.
It is another advantage of the present invention to reduce the differential in baffle performance as a function of spout angle, thereby providing a more consistently gentle deceleration of material being handled.
It is yet another feature of the present invention to include a series of outlets from the oversized input spout sleeve.
It is yet another advantage of the present invention to permit variable flow rates, including minimal flow rates, while concomitantly providing for self-cleaning capabilities, over a wide range of spout angles.
The present invention is an apparatus and method for decelerating dry bulk material into a container, designed to satisfy the aforementioned needs, provide the previously stated objects, include the above-listed features, and achieve the already articulated advantages. The present invention is carried out in a xe2x80x9cwasted time-lessxe2x80x9d manner in a sense that the time consumed in properly maintaining a functional spout end system, over its lifetime, has been greatly reduced.
Accordingly, the present invention is a system and method including an adjustable spout end having an oversized pivoting input sleeve with internal baffles therein.